How Clint Carlson Played Major Finance Stocks Last Quarter

#3 Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C)

– Shares Held by Carlson Capital (as of June 30): 2.75 million
– Total Value of Holding (as of June 30): $116.57 million

Of the 749 funds that we track which filed 13F’s for the June quarter, 97 of them reporting being long Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), owning $8.5 billion worth of its shares, which accounted for 6.80% of the float on June 30. Those figures stood at 101 funds with $8.04 billion worth of Citigroup holdings on March 31. In terms of Carlson Capital’s position in the stock, the fund cut its stake in the investment bank by 33% during the three-month period ended June 30, to 2.75 million shares. Carlson may have cut its stake due to worries over the potential impact of Britain’s decision to leave the EU. Given that Citigroup is the most international of the ‘Big Four’ banks, the stock would suffer the most if a black swan event occurred due to the Brexit.

#2 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

– Shares Held by Carlson Capital (as of June 30): 4.95 million
– Total Value of Holding (as of June 30): $128.6 million

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was a favorite of Carlson Capital in the second quarter, with the fund raising its holding in the investment bank by 120% to 4.95 million shares. Sharing Carlson Capital’s bullish enthusiasm was Jeffrey Ubben‘s ValueAct Capital, which recently disclosed owning a $1.1 billion stake in the financial giant, good for control over 2% of the float. Morgan Stanley reported solid second quarter results in July, with EPS of $0.75 on revenue of $8.91 billion, beating the consensus marks by $0.16 per share and $610 million, respectively. The bank will benefit if the U.S. economy remains strong and the global economy recovers.

#1 Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)

– Shares Held by Carlson Capital (as of June 30): 12.23 million
– Total Value of Holding (as of June 30): $162.35 million

Although the number of funds in our database with holdings in Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) fell by eight quarter-over-quarter to 102 at the end of June, Carlson Capital went against the grain and raised its holding by 15% to 12.23 million shares. With Janet Yellen recently stating that the case for interest rate hikes has strengthened due to the robust U.S. economy, interest rates could rise sooner rather than later. If interest rates rise, Bank of America’s profits will likely trend up, as its net interest margin improves.

Disclosure: None